Majority of Nashville Council members vow to reappoint Justin Jones to the state House

At least 29 members of Nashville’s 40-seat Metro Council said they plan to reappoint expelled former Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, and send him back to the Tennessee House of Representatives.

That would give him more than the simple majority he would need to reclaim his seat.

After hours of fiery debate, the House expelled Jones in a 72-25 vote, and Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, in a 69-26 decision — moves that put the nation's eyes on Tennessee and its politics.

But the Republican supermajority failed by one vote to achieve the two-thirds consensus needed to kick Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, out of the chamber. 

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House Republicans accused the trio of violating decorum rules when they led a raucous gun-control protest from the House floor with a bullhorn on March 30, as thousands of demonstrators descended on the state Capitol calling to restrict access to guns. This occurred just days after a shooter attacked the Covenant School in Nashville, killing six people.

Expulsions of Jones and Pearson are effective immediately, meaning there are now two vacancies. Jones' state legislative website was already taken down by late Thursday afternoon. Their committee assignments had been stripped and their access cards to Capitol campus facilities had been deactivated prior to Thursday.

Filling the vacancies now falls to county legislative bodies, and in Jones' case, Nashville's Metro Council.

Jones vowed to return.

“We’ll see you on Monday,” he said.

Members of the legislature are not allowed to fundraise during the legislative session. But within hours of his expulsion from the chamber, Jones reactivated his campaign fundraising website.

By the end of legislative proceedings Thursday, Vice Mayor Jim Shulman scheduled a special meeting of the council to hold an appointment vote at 4:30 p.m. Monday in the Metro Council Chamber.

The meeting will need a quorum of 27 members present to hold a vote. The process to elect an interim representative takes at least four weeks, according to council rules, but the council could vote to suspend the rules to hold a vote on Monday. That effort could be thwarted if at least two council members object to suspending the rules.

In the event that rules are suspended, Jones accepts a nomination and more than half of the council members present at the meeting vote to reinstate him, Jones could be back in the District 52 Tennessee House seat by Monday evening.

At least 29 council members pledged to send Jones back to the chamber.

"My Council District 6 constituents of House 52 want @brotherjones_ reinstated. I will be voting in favor of his reinstatement if he accepts the Metro Council’s nomination," Council member Brett Withers wrote in a tweet. "It is outrageous that half of my constituents were disenfranchised by the TN House this afternoon. Stand strong!"

Metro Council member Sandra Sepulveda said voters in Jones' district elected him. “I will be voting to reappoint him," she tweeted.

Metro Council member Freddie O’Connell agreed. 

“I will vote to reappoint @brotherjones_ as soon as #MetroCouncil meets to consider it,” O’Connell wrote in a tweet. “This is an affront both to lives lost and the will of the voters. #TennesseeThree.”

Council Member Russ Bradford also said Jones should be reappointed, saying “the people spoke last November.”

Council members Emily Benedict, Tom Cash, Angie Henderson, Bob Mendes, Dave Rosenberg, Zach Young, Jeff Syracuse, Sean Parker, Sharon Hurt, Kathleen Murphy, Tonya Hancock, John Rutherford, Erin Evans, Kyonzté Toombs, Nancy VanReece, Delishia Porterfield, Jennifer Gamble, Burkley Allen, Robert Nash, Russ Pulley, Colby Sledge, Zulfat Suara, Larry Hagar and Ginny Welsch also said they would vote to reappoint Jones. 

Council member Courtney Johnston said she will not be able to attend Monday's meeting due to a previously scheduled medical procedure. Council member Antoinette Lee will be out of state and unable to attend.

"I have received at least 30 emails and texts asking me to reinstate Rep. Jones in the past hour," Council member Kevin Rhoten shared in a tweet. "I will rely on the council members from House District 52 to tell me if their constituents want Rep. Jones returned to the House. I have a good feeling they will want him returned."

Although Mayor John Cooper doesn't get to vote on the matter, he too voiced support for appointing Jones to fill the vacancy. Cooper said voters in the district were disenfranchised by House Republicans.

"I’m proud that Metro Council is meeting Monday to fill the vacancy left in Nashville by today’s vote, & I believe they’ll send @brotherjones_ right back to continue serving his constituents," he posted on Twitter.

Democratic leadership said after the vote Thursday that they look forward to welcoming the expelled members back.

"Most of us said, 'See you when you get reappointed,'" House Democratic Caucus Chairman John Ray Clemmons, D-Nashville, said of his conversations with Jones and Pearson after the vote.

In Shelby County, at least one of 13 county commissioners has vowed to reappoint Justin Pearson to his house seat.

Rep. Gino Bulso, R-Brentwood, said the state constitution would allow Jones to be elected again after expulsion. “If after looking at his conduct, they vote he come back, we will recognize him as a representative,” Bulso said.

Republican leadership said they would work with Jones and Pearson if they return to the body, just as any other member. But with a precaution.

"I would hopefully be able to shake their hands, welcome them back," said House Republican Caucus Chair Jeremy Faison, R-Cosby. "If they come back, I'd say, 'I plead with you to look at the decades, 200 years plus of men and women who have come here, respected this place, and actually been able to pass a bill because they follow the rules of our decorum that guarantee every voice is heard.'"

Since there is more than a year before the next election in the fall of 2024, the district would hold a special election. The interim would serve until the new member is sworn in.

Legislative leaders cannot stop an ousted member from running for office again, and they cannot expel them for the same offense if they're reelected.

"If the people of their district wish to reelect them, they can do so," House Speaker Cameron Sexton, R-Crossville, said after the vote. "That's the process."